Cutting Budgets from the WRONG direction!!

[Foxy Lady]

1

[JakRussll]

I think someone needs a nap.

[curious]

It's the "powers that be" who are taking a nap! This was all a big power play. Pure politics. I know, let's build another park. Those cops don't need any backup. Don't arrest the crooks, just send them a letter and ask them to turn themselves in. Don't arrest them at work or at home, either.

[lmam88]

I heard recently that the city of Marble Falls cut one of their officer positions and has frozen 3 other open positions!! What is going on?? With the economy the way it is people are stealing more and more to survive. The last thing we should be cutting is Police Officers and or Sheriff Dept.
I was curious so I asked a Marble Falls officer if that was true. He said we are better off than some cities. Granite Shoals has not had a Man Power increase in 10 years!!! What are the people over there thinking? With the amount of terrible areas they recently took into their area. Wow!! WHY?? Does the council ever ask the Police Dept if they need any help? Has their Chief ever asked for help?? Surely they cant say no to adding more cops. We all know they can afford it. They have plently of money to buy a 3 million dollar City Hall and now a tennis & golf course.

We need to wake up our elected officials!! I moved out here to be away from the high levels of crime from Austin and enjoy the peace of the hill country. Commissioners, Council Members!! We elected you to pass and carry our concerns to the table. Keep our Public Safety at full capacity. And for god sake, increase the police in G'Shoals. That has to be dangerous!!
Webmaster,Your a cop and you live in precient 4 around G'Shoals, Dont you agree??

I want my Police Officer positions at full capacity here in Marble Falls!!


"With the amount of terrible areas they recently took into their area. Wow!! WHY??"

I live in one of the "terrible" areas you speak of. I have asked the same question and have not been given an answer. While we are patrolled by G.S.P.D. there have been several times I have seen B.C.S.O. also out here. We have people speeding down our road constantly, drug activity (according to one of the officers), vandalism, breaking and entering as well as burglary. The last three things I mentioned have been events that we have suffered within the last est. 8-10 months. Maybe not even that long...
They are patrolling & issuing citations for run down vehicles in the neighborhood I notice but the crime rate is the biggest problem this section has (has had for years now)and they need to zone in more on that!
I do want to add that the Roddick Tennis Courts are a VERY positive thing for the youth in our area. I have always contended that if there were more positive things made available to the kids out here that it would help with the Juvenile crime rates.
Also as for the new City Hall, have you ever been into our old one? It was a very old building and very cramped. The building they bought and took over was sitting vacant for years. Over time it would have become an eyesore. I think it was a very smart move for the city and will serve them well for years to come. I do hope there are still plans to convert the old building into a Granite Shoals Public Library. That would also be a real asset to our community.

[Wolfe]

I do want to add that the Roddick Tennis Courts are a VERY positive thing for the youth in our area.

And the youth will get to the tennis courts, how? Walking along roads with no sidewalks in grass that has snakes, ticks, & chiggers.
Or maybe along the busy 1431 with cars that always exceed the speed limit, again, with no sidewalks. Yeah, that's a real great idea.
Plus, the youth would have to be able to also afford tennis rackets and tennis balls.
I agree with Foxy Lady. These cities need to get their priorities straight. Law enforcement is always the most important but around here it is not viewed as such I guess.

[Reapp]

I heard recently that the city of Marble Falls cut one of their officer positions and has frozen 3 other open positions!! What is going on?? With the economy the way it is people are stealing more and more to survive. The last thing we should be cutting is Police Officers and or Sheriff Dept.


The warrant officer position was cut and he was moved to patrol, there are currently two vacancies in patrol that are frozen for now, last I heard. Technically patrol is only short 1 position and we have no more warrant officer.

It would be nice to have those positions filled, however we've always managed to make it work. We've always prided ourselves in being able to do more with less. :)

[tarheel]

Wolfe, where've you been???

Reapp, that's the spirit! If only the Federal gummint would take that attitude.

[lmam88]

And the youth will get to the tennis courts, how? Walking along roads with no sidewalks in grass that has snakes, ticks, & chiggers.
Or maybe along the busy 1431 with cars that always exceed the speed limit, again, with no sidewalks. Yeah, that's a real great idea.
Plus, the youth would have to be able to also afford tennis rackets and tennis balls.
I agree with Foxy Lady. These cities need to get their priorities straight. Law enforcement is always the most important but around here it is not viewed as such I guess.
Things take time you know? The intersection at 1431 and PRR has just been upgraded to accommodate pedestrians. Progress does not happen overnight unfortunately. The Tennis Courts will be a lot closer to walk to then anything in Marble Falls. As it stand now there is NOTHING out here for them.

No one wishes more then I do that the crime rate was lower out here but we have only been in the city limits a short time. I am hoping that on down the road it will get better. I would love to feel secure again in going for afternoon walks through our neighborhood! That's not the case right now...

[gardener]

Suggestion, cut cars not cops...each officer has a car they take home with their name on the door here in MF...Just a little too extravagant. Keep cars at PD for use while on patrol and a spare for breakdowns...
We also seem to be a little mgmt heavy at city...
How about a park not on the south side??? Volunteer labor and summer youth corps?

Time to get back to community basics!;)

[Reapp]

It is not practical to use patrol cars like that, they would run for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we would be replacing all of them every other year instead of 1-2 a year. We already have a "pool" car that we use when someone's unit is broken down, it's been used pretty consistently for the last 6 weeks or so. My car is 6 years old and will not be replaced until it hits around 100k miles. I'm also responsible for all of the maintenance (making sure it gets done) and I can respond from home if I am called out instead of having to go get a car first.

I'm also not sure why you think having our name on the car is "extravagant." :confused: It is not done for our benefit, we have name tags if we forget who we are ;)

[JakRussll]

I'm also not sure why you think having our name on the car is "extravagant." :confused: It is not done for our benefit, we have name tags if we forget who we are ;)

LOL. Good YUK to start the day off. I'm looking for the car with Reapp on the door!

[tonigking]

I just love it when people post, as gospel, that which they know nothing about!

The Granite Shoals building and all of the property that came with it was the smartest, best thing that has ever happened in Granite Shoals.

The Tennis Courts cost us nothing, but will bring big $$$$$$$ to GS,Kingsland and MF with national level tournaments as well as regional.

Don't believe me, Call City Hall and get your facts straight before running you mouth!:(

[gardener]

Reapp there are also the insurance costs for all those cars, as for the replacement it looks like 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other.......What suggestions do you have to keep officers and cut other costs????

[Webmaster]

Gardener - there have been multiple studies about the "take home cars" vs "pool cars" issue. It has been shown that allowing officers to take cars home reduces costs in the long term. The cars are better taken care of and last longer.

[carvet44]

There is a MF policeman that lives across the street from me. From what I've seen, he uses his personal vehicle for personal use. His police car is parked in various places on the street, and I'm glad it is there for visibility. It doesn't appear that it is used for any purpose other than police business. However, I don't spend my time checking all the comings and goings of the neighbors, so this is based on only casual observation. I agree that if an officer is to respond quickly, it's only logical that he/she could respond more quickly if the vehicle is at immediate disposal, don't you think?

[Frank_Reilly]

GS has increased public safety staff as budgets allow, and the 10 year assertion is incorrect. I support having more officers on the ground, but the current number is within the acceptable range for a city of our size. I'm hopeful that after the recession, GS can add to our personnel, both public safety and in all of our other departments. We've been running a very lean ship in GS, not only recently, but in prior years, and given the economy, that trend will have to continue through the upcoming budget cycle.

GS city staff -- in all departments -- have been awesome in their loyalty, commitment, and public service. As mayor, I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. They all do the work of at least two people, and true to their professionalism, they never complain. They just go about their jobs quietly and efficiently. The city has been addressing a number of issues on personnel and staffing, and like most cities we have no shortage of challenges.

One issue the city tackled was to perform a comprehensive salary survey, classification and job description upgrade, and implement a modern employment policy. One key part of that was bringing our city staff's compensation in line with market conditions. Not everyone got a raise, but many did, including our police force, which is now the best paid of all area forces. This has allowed GS to retain, and recruit, excellent talent. We did this before increasing the workforce size because to do so would be unfair to those who have been working within the city and because we needed to offer positions in the future knowing that the city was on solid ground. The city intends to keep up with changing conditions and increasing demands on our staff; we will be limited in those efforts this year due to the softening economy.

As to the new city hall, let me provide some additional facts. The city has purchased 131.6 acres on the southwest corner of RM 1431 and Phillips Ranch Road, which included the large 2-story former headquarters for Capitol Marble & Granite Co., along with several old quarry buildings. The city council authorized the purchase because it was a rare opportunity to purchase a fairly sizable tract of land on which to locate the long desired and demanded wastewater treatment plant for the city. Every comprehensive plan adopted by the city (which are drafted after much public comment, input and debate) since 1972 called for building a sewer system. Another reason the city purchased the property was to provide recreational facilities for our residents. All prior comprehensive plans called for acquiring larger tracts to construct of ball fields, trails, and other recreational resources. The city's existing 18 parks are small in comparison, and none could support even a single baseball or soccer field. A third reason, was to take an aging building that was on the crux of becoming forever abandoned and an eyesore, and convert it into a new city hall that would provide the city with room for decades of growth, would relieve the space issues staff faced in the overstuffed old city hall (and the 2002 city comprehensive plan called for a new, larger city hall). Added benefits include an upgraded city image, and a message to those who have denigrated our wonderful community for so long, and provide a facility that every GS resident would be proud to call their own.

The city has fielded increased calls from developers and builders. These range from individual commercial businesses or smaller spec home builders, to developers of medical facilities, to large scale subdivision developers. All need a city sewer system, which is absolutely essential if GS is to move forward and if needed services (shopping, dining and medical to name a few) are going to be provided to the city's residents. Without the sewer system, the city will stagnate, the developers will look for other viable communities, and our groundwater and Lake LBJ will continue to be polluted by our septic systems. If you support a GS that provides better infrastructure and services to its community, and one in which the property values and housing stock improve, rather than stagnate or go down, you must support the sewer plant. I am convinced that if we do not build a sewer plant, that housing -- especially that which is not on the waterfront -- will stop being developed and that existing housing and structures will begin (and in some instances this has already started) to deteriorate and depreciate.

The city recently obtained an incredible opportunity which was spurred by improvements made by the city to the 131.6 acres of land and the possibility of a sewer plant and the following changes including: the city's continued systematic resolution of old lingering (and quite frankly, festering) issues such as the arcane Sherwood Shores Trust Fund (which will be phased out in coming years due to the city's request granted by the 33rd District Court), replacing outdated ordinances, upgrading city policies, implementing professional city manager government, resolving park and waterfront encroachment issues, adopting an impact fee ordinance so that developers, and not existing customers of the city's utilities, pay for infrastructure increases need to provide those new services, adopting a great 2010 Comprehensive Plan. That opportunity was the proposed creation of a new development, which will have its water, drainage and sewer infrastructure paid for through a Municipal Utility District (MUD) that only taxes people within that development.

The city negotiated for, and obtained, 15 acres from the developers on which to build a sewer plant (freeing up 15 acres on the city's property for other uses), 25 acres on which to irrigate with effluent, an easement across the new development for the development to tie into the city's system, and hopefully a public golf course (owned by private parties) on which the city can later irrigate as the city continues to expand its services to existing Granite Shoals residents. Let me be clear that neither the city nor its residents will pay for any of the new development's water or wastewater infrastructure. Those will be paid for by MUD taxes, to be levied only against properties in the new development, and by the impact fees paid by the developers. Further, the city is moving forward with the sewer plant regardless of the development, and should the development occur, it will not slow or hinder the city's efforts to ultimately provide services to the rest of GS. Instead, the additional revenues the development provides to the city can be invested into expanding the system into existing areas of the city.

As to the Andy Roddick tennis center, the city, its residents and our youth have received an incredible gift. Andy Roddick is the top male tennis player in the U.S. After some great success on the courts, he created the Andy Roddick Foundation, which has as a key part of its mission, the education of children and the reduction of childhood obesity. The foundation intends to build several "quick start" tennis courts built on the 131.6 acres of land underneath one of the quarry building roofs, and will be bringing kids from Highland Lakes Elementary School over during physical education to teach them tennis (but only those who want to learn tennis) with a tennis pro paid for by the foundation. The foundation will also be providing after hours tennis programs, and instructing them on nutritional issues, and mentoring the kids. Those kids who cannot afford tennis racquets will be given one. And instead of parents having to pick up kids 6 - 8 miles away in Marble Falls after sports activities, these lucky tennis parents can pick their kids up much closer to home. The foundation will seek volunteers to helps with the program, including transportation.

Ultimately, the foundation would build up to 20 regulation courts. They expect to construct 8 courts within the year so that the kids that grow past the size of the smaller courts can advance onto the full sized courts. 8 courts will also allow the hosting of tennis tournaments, bringing people and commerce to GS. Additional courts will increase the size and number of tournaments, and the Roddick representatives believe the city will (once a sewer system is in place) be able to sustain some hotel/motel development to house the tennis players and tournament officials.

One thing that is cool about the the "quick start" tennis courts is that not only are they perfect for the youngsters, but the U.S. Tennis Ass'n is starting programs for older adults who would prefer playing on the smaller courts, and programs for wheel chair based tennis.

All of the courts will be accessible to the disabled, and to all GS residents while the foundation is not using the courts for any of its activities. Again, this is quite a gift and an incredible opportunity for the city's economic development.

As to how the kids will get there, at first, parents will likely need to bring and take their children from the facility. The 2010 Comprehensive Plan proposed a series of trails from all parts of the city to connect our parks system -- which will include the 131.6 acres of land. Rome wasn't built in a day, and GS won't be either. In fact, the progress we've been making continues to encourage some of our residents to ask us whether the city is moving too fast. In my humble opinion, the city's progress is indeed moving fast, but not too fast... Perhaps if people are complaining the city is progressing too slowly, and others are complaining that the city is progressing too fast, then the city is moving ahead with all appropriate deliberate speed.

As always, if anyone has any questions, feel free to post here or email me at mayor@graniteshoals.org.

Thanks for listening.

Frank Reilly
Mayor, Granite Shoals

[JakRussll]

Thanks for listening.

Frank Reilly
Mayor, Granite Shoals

No. Thank you Mayor. That was a comprehensive and time consuming explanation. It is very much appreciated.

[kb5ykj]

I was just wondering what people think about the other Public Safety Departments, and other City services? They are working hard to controll spending for us also.
I do think that the Police Officers taking a vehicle to their home when off duty is a good idea. With the area being short handed the officers can respond quickly to Emergency calls for backup.
I figure that folks will really get the full idea of things as the new Elected Officials settle into offices and get the full picture. I will be watching as I hope everybody will be to see what happens in the next couple of months. As I have said before there will have to be some Prioratizing to see what can be done with the limited funds that are comming in till things start to pick up.

[tarheel]

Frank,

That is simply too outstanding a piece of writing to only be published on this forum. It will be read here by a few hundred people, at most. It deserves to be read by most of the people in this general area, and by ALL of the people in Granite Shoals. May I suggest that you shop it to the local newspapers. All of them should publish it.

[JakRussll]

Frank,

That is simply too outstanding a piece of writing to only be published on this forum. It will be read here by a few hundred people, at most. It deserves to be read by most of the people in this general area, and by ALL of the people in Granite Shoals. May I suggest that you shop it to the local newspapers. All of them should publish it.

I second that!

[gardener]

Reapp, I would love to see this study, can you post a link please....Thanks

[Frank_Reilly]

Thanks for the compliments. I'll work on re-writing them into an opinion piece or two for the papers...

[tonigking]

WOW!

Does Granite Shoal have a terrific Mayor or what?

Is Granite Shoals on line to become the Jewel of Burnet County ? No, it already is.:D

Thank you Mayor and Council and City Employees for all you do !:bravo:

[mdarling]

I'm all for the part about the developers and property owners in new developments paying for the infrastructure work. If only Marble Falls had had that much foresight. Instead the council raised city taxes by about 27 percent, so the residents of Marble Falls get to pay for infrastructure that they don't even use!

[tncnoack]

I am thankfull we live in the not so crime ridden side of GS, but let me say that some people do not want it to be a safe little town but a country stop off! I would love it if the city would put street lights in on our so dangerous streets so people could feel safe taking a walk and not getting caught out after dark with all the crime and wild animals around..

[lmam88]

I am thankfull we live in the not so crime ridden side of GS, but let me say that some people do not want it to be a safe little town but a country stop off! I would love it if the city would put street lights in on our so dangerous streets so people could feel safe taking a walk and not getting caught out after dark with all the crime and wild animals around..
We had a security light put in at our own expense and it has not done nothing to deter the crimes.

[lmam88]

Just read the Highlander and WOW, some pretty scary things going on in our section of the city! Makes me want to build a ten foot wall around our house...seriously! Regular patrols would really help.
For those that have not read the paper, there was a post graduation party out here. Three people wound up getting stabbed. The 4 perpetrators ranged in ages 23-16!!! All taken into custody.

[kb5ykj]

I read in the Austin American Statesman the other day that the Developer of the Northwest corner of the intersection of 281 & 1431 is requesting a waiver or rezoning so he can start developing the area into offices and homes. I was just wondering if this is the same one that the Hospital had a deal with that fell through because he was dragging his feet and did not have the money ? Will this be another of the deals that they want us tax payers of the city to fund ? (Seems fool me once shame on me fool me twice shame on you falls into place.) I believe that we need to watch this very closely.

[Caretaker]

I read in the Austin American Statesman the other day that the Developer of the Northwest corner of the intersection of 281 & 1431 is requesting a waiver or rezoning so he can start developing the area into offices and homes. I was just wondering if this is the same one that the Hospital had a deal with that fell through because he was dragging his feet and did not have the money ? Will this be another of the deals that they want us tax payers of the city to fund ? (Seems fool me once shame on me fool me twice shame on you falls into place.) I believe that we need to watch this very closely.


1st. It is the SW corner of 281/71. And yes it is the same group.The Flatrock folks.They are seeking a rezoning..They want a PDD. And Yes the Tax payers paid for those lines which at this point are only for the benefit of these deveolpers. And the article only slightly mentions the Hospital which has still not given an exact location.
Bigger question is this.. Since that land has an AG exemption on it,will the County charge them rollback taxes for 3 to 5 years or will they let them slide for promising Future tax dollars.And will the City make them pay the Impact Fees.

[Wolfe]

Wolfe, where've you been???

Reapp, that's the spirit! If only the Federal gummint would take that attitude.

Just too busy to get on here much. But thanks for noticing my absence!

[Sarge]

Ive been a cop for several years, and your area has always been high on my list. Ive been waiting for nearly a year for Granite Shoals to get an opening, just because of how well they take care of the police officers.

You guys are definately on the right track.